When A-Shi came home from school that day, he arrived just in time for a feast.
His elder sister served him a small bowl of chicken giblet noodles. At first, A-Shi thought she was being stingy, but the moment the roast chicken and roast duck were brought out, all his complaints vanished.
The roast chicken smelled incredible. Not only was the chicken delicious, but even the mushrooms stuffed inside it were exceptionally flavorful. His sister had deliberately saved both mushrooms for him; neither his father nor elder brother had gotten any.
Halfway through the meal, the kitchen brought out the roast duck as well.
The whole family sat around the dining table. Yun Qingyi skillfully sliced the roast duck and arranged the pieces neatly on a platter. The remaining duck carcass was chopped into pieces and sent back to the kitchen to be cooked into porridge.
Yun Qingyi picked up a thin pancake, added two slices of duck, some shredded scallions and cucumber, spread on sweet bean sauce, wrapped it up, and handed it to her father. Then she made another for her mother.
Once their parents had been served, Second Brother and A-Shi stopped being polite. They copied Yun Qingyi’s method and focused on taking care of themselves.
The thin pancake paired perfectly with the duck. It wasn’t greasy at all, and the cucumber and scallions added a refreshing crunch.
It was so delicious that A-Shi regretted eating too many noodles beforehand.
The duck skin wasn’t wasted either. Crispy duck skin dipped in sugar was fragrant, crunchy, and sweet.
While the family enjoyed roast duck in the main hall, the kitchen was bustling with activity. The duck bones simmered into porridge, filling the air with a rich, sweet aroma. Once it was done, everyone eagerly polished off their bowls.
“We eat porridge every day, but I never imagined it could taste this good.”
As they spoke, everyone’s eyes drifted toward the chicken feet still soaking in sauce. Normally, such scraps were ignored, but who would have thought they could be turned into a dish?
Out of forty chicken feet, Yun Qingyi gave one to each kitchen worker. Ten were brought to the main hall for her parents and brothers, and another ten were sent across the street by Yun Xing.
Yun Xing knocked on the door, and it was Mo Wen who answered.
“My lady is delivering the rent as promised. She said that General Mo Wen and General Mo Yu get three each, and the rest belong to the General.”
Hearing that Yun-niangzi had sent some for him as well, Mo Yu hurried over.
“Lady Yun is truly beautiful and kind-hearted. Next time I bring flowers for her, I’ll pick even more.”
And so everyone in the Yun household learned that the “genius” who had once delivered a thousand pounds of flowers was the family living across the street.
Mo Wen originally intended to bring them to the General first, but Mo Yu insisted that the chicken feet smelled too good and wanted to taste one.
The two of them had just taken a chicken foot each and bitten into half of it when Mo Yuxuan walked out.
With half a chicken foot still in his mouth, Mo Yu grinned broadly.
“General, Lady Yun from across the street sent these over. They taste fantastic.”
He handed two chicken feet to Mo Yuxuan.
“Lady Yun said Mo Wen and I get three each. The rest are yours, General.”
Mo Wen and Mo Yu had followed the General since childhood. Although outsiders feared Mo Yuxuan, Mo Wen always treated him with great respect. Mo Yu, however, had been very young when he first met the General. Since Mo Yuxuan had often looked after him like an older brother, Mo Yu became one of the few people who wasn’t afraid of him.
Watching Mo Yu offer the General only the leftovers left Mo Wen speechless.
Mo Yuxuan accepted the remaining chicken feet and said,
“Mo Yu, now that you’ve enjoyed such delicious chicken feet, shouldn’t you reward yourself with an hour of horse stance practice?”
The smile on Mo Yu’s face immediately froze halfway. Even the chicken foot in his mouth no longer tasted quite as good.
After dinner, Shui Ling asked Yun Qingyi about the next day’s product launch.
“Miss, are we selling roast chicken and roast duck tomorrow?”
“We are, but not at the morning market. A roast chicken costs five hundred copper coins, and a roast duck costs one tael of silver. How many families can afford that? If they don’t sell, they’ll just go to waste.”
“Then what should we do? Didn’t you promise Shanghe Village that we’d buy their poultry every day?”
“Since I’ve ordered the goods, naturally I’ll sell them. Tomorrow we’ll make the first batch as samples for tasting. We’ll explain that our roast chickens and ducks are available in limited quantities each day and must be reserved in advance.”
“I understand now,” Shui Ling said. “Sell them first, then roast them afterward. That way nothing gets wasted. Miss, you’re so clever.”
At the morning market the next day, the Yun family’s snack stall launched a new item: braised chicken feet, ten copper coins each.
As usual, new products were sold at a twenty-percent discount on their first day.
Although the chicken feet could have been wrapped in oiled paper, Yun Qingyi considered herself an expert on eating chicken feet. She knew the essence of the dish lay in the braising sauce. Without the sauce, half the flavor would be lost.
Therefore, each chicken foot was served in a special bamboo container made by the Yun family to preserve the taste.
While the stall operated at the market, Yun Xing and Yun Wang worked in the kitchen preparing roast chicken and roast duck.
Under Yun Qingyi’s guidance, after slaughtering, cleaning, seasoning, and hanging the birds in the roasting oven, the first batch was finally ready by afternoon.
Yun Qingyi prepared twenty food boxes.
The roast chicken was wrapped in lotus leaves. The roast duck was sliced and packed together with pancakes and sauces. The food boxes had three layers: one for the roast chicken, one for the roast duck, and one for the condiments.
Under the tray of condiments, she even included an instruction sheet explaining how to eat the roast duck.
The first box was for the Fifth Prince, and Yun Qingyi personally delivered it.
Along the way, she secretly laughed to herself.
“I always thought food delivery was a modern lifestyle. Who would’ve thought I’d be running a delivery service in ancient times too?”
Since it was delivery service, she intended to do it properly. Before leaving, she had Uncle Shui arrange for a golden signboard bearing the name Yun Ji Shop to be hung on her carriage.
When she arrived at the Fifth Prince’s residence, he came out to greet her personally after hearing she had brought food boxes.
“Lady Yun, I heard you’ve launched something new today. What delicacies have you brought this time?”
Yun Qingyi handed over two food boxes, gave a brief explanation, and then hurried off to make her next delivery.
Next, she visited her maternal grandfather, the Grand Tutor.
Entering the inner residence, she personally served her grandparents.
She unwrapped the lotus leaves, cut apart the roast chicken with scissors, and offered the most delicious drumstick to her grandmother.
At once, her grandfather protested.
“Xuanxuan, you can’t play favorites! I want a drumstick too!”
Acting like a spoiled child, he left Yun Qingyi no chance to ask her grandmother’s opinion. Instead, she picked up her chopsticks and made him a roast duck wrap.
“Don’t worry, Grandfather. There’s plenty for you.”
The elderly couple ate happily, their mouths full of rich, savory flavors.
“Xuanxuan, you’re becoming more and more capable.”
After they finished eating, Yun Qingyi returned home and had the four Xing-Wang-Fa-Da brothers deliver the remaining food boxes.
Before dinner, servants from various noble households arrived one after another to place orders.
The households of the Zhongyong Marquis, Prince Qin, Prince Gongsu, Marquis Xinyi, and many others all placed orders.
Not only did every family that received samples order the full set meal, but many customers who regularly lined up at her stall and never felt satisfied also came to place reservations.
All twenty sets sold out quickly.
The servants in the Yun household were exhausted but excited. Watching their eager faces, Yun Qingyi began making new plans.
These people were her first group of “seed employees.” They were doing excellent work so far, but in the future, many of the rougher and more repetitive tasks could be outsourced and divided among others.
Yun Qingyi’s business empire had expanded another step.